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PBD 2014
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2014
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PBD 2014
EAST COAST EDITION
Future holds promise, PM tells diaspora Manmohan Singh assures NRIs that India’s economic fundamentals are strong, growth satisfactory IANS, NEW DELHI
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ndia’s growth level this fiscal will probably remain at 5 percent as in last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on January 8. “In the nine years since 2004, we averaged a healthy growth rate of 7.9 percent,” he said here while addressing the inaugural session of the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual gathering of people of Indian origin. “There has no doubt been a slowdown in the recent past, and we will probably end this year at the same level as last year with 5 percent growth.” Manmohan Singh said a number of international and domestic factors have contributed to this situa-
PM Manmohan Singh delivers his speech during PBD-2014 in New Delhi.
tion. “Despite these challenges, our economic fundamentals are strong. Our savings and investment rates are still over 30 percent of the GDP and the entrepreneurial spirit in India is very much alive,” he stated. He urged Indians abroad to stay positive despite questions about the future of the Indian economy and concerns about social challenges. “There is a perception in some quarters outside India that the country is losing its momentum of the past decade. This is also amplified by the political contestations here in India, which are inevitably louder in the election season,” the prime minister said. “I want to assure you that there is no reason to despair about our present or worry about our future.” While lamenting that the government could not legislate deeper
reform measures in the financial and insurance sectors due to lack of greater political support, Manmohan Singh said the decisions that have been made were already beginning to make an impact and India was re-emerging as an attractive investment decision. “I am confident you will see the evidence clearly in the next few months,” he asserted. On the education sector, the prime minister said the number of central universities in the country have gone up from 17 to 44 while the number of IITs and IIMs have doubled. He also expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia for addressing the problems of over a million Indian workers after that country adopted a new labor policy.
India for stronger connect with NRI youth IANS, NEW DELHI
I Vayalar Ravi inaugurates PBD 2014 in New Delhi on January 7.
Indian diaspora seeks strong STEPS AGAINST RAPISTS
NEW DELHI: The Indian diaspora was shaken by the brutal gangrape of a young woman on Dec 16, 2012, and upset over the continuing rapes taking place in the national capital and elsewhere that made the country appear unsafe for women, said members of the Indian diaspora here. It wants the government to take the strictest action against such crimes. Priti Lamba, who belongs to Toronto, Canada, and is here to attend the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), said the incident made the Indian diaspora in Toronto very angry. “When we heard about Damini (the
name given to the victim by the media ) we were very upset. All were upset. The way they raped her was very brutal. They (the accused) should get the strongest punishment,” said Lamba, who had migrated from Punjab to Canada in 1981 and is the vice president of Association of Women of India in Canada (AWIC) that works among Indian women in Canada. “There was also another rape case we learnt about after that. The Indian Government should take strong steps to prevent such incidents,” Lamba told IANS . — IANS
ndia on January 7 pressed for stronger networking between Indian and diaspora youth to forge partnerships in trade, industry, entrepreneurship and social work that would lead to employment and wealth creation. “Our goal should be to build a strong global connect of youth,” Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) Vayalar Ravi said, inaugurating Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014, an event ahead of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), annual Indian diaspora meet on January 8. The Youth PBD has been envisioned as a platform to provide opportunities to Indian youth to meet and interact with their overseas counterparts.The theme of this year’s PBD is “Engaging Diaspora:
Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi addressing at the 12th PBD on January 7.
Connecting Across Generations” and the Youth PBD is expected to open new horizons of a strong network of young overseas Indians.
Ravi said his ministry has been at the forefront in engaging the youth diaspora residing in various countries by introducing various schemes and projects like Know India Programme (KIP), Study India Programme (SIP), and Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC). These schemes and programmes have benefited the diaspora youth as well as the diaspora children immensely by exposing them to the cultural heritage and the growth and development story of their mother country, India, he added. The report seeks to explore three distinct domains in which the resident and non-resident Indian youth are forming partnerships to create sustainable models of growth that can confront global challenges in the socio-economic sphere.
PBD 2014 IN PICTURES 1
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Reunion Island Indians connect with India NEW DELHI: French is their mother tongue and they have been born and lived for four generations far away from India, but a thirst to know more about the land where their forefathers came from draws them to India regularly. Armoudom Lena, an orthodontist from Reunion Islan, is heading the Indian delegation at the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the largest gathering of Indian diaspora that opened here on January 7. Reunion Island is a small French island in the Indian Ocean, near Mauri-
tius. The Indian-origin population comprises 45 percent of the people on the island that has a population of over 837,000 inhabitants. “We are the most important Indian community in France,” Lena told IANS. Lena, who has come with her son and other Indian members, said the visit to PBD is aimed to help strengthen links with “Mother India”. “We want the young people to strengthen links with Mother India and our country of adoption. We want to share our experiences from abroad.” — IANS
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1. PM Manmohan Singh releases a book during PBD 2014 on January 8. 2. Manmohan lights a lamp during the three-day event. 3. Vayalar Ravi with New Zealand Member of Parliament Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi (Extreme Left).